Spirits of the Lake
by SMNJ
Summary: In the second installment of the 'Arthur Returns Series', the strange trio (Arthur, Merlin, and Essie) dig deeper into the mystery of King Arthur's mysterious return. Whilst investigating a string of suspicious drownings, they discover the startling truth- can they trust each other? And what secrets lie hidden under the mask of old friends? To be updated every Tuesday.
1. Chapter 1

Merlin never thought this would happen. Of all the possible things in the world, this was at the end of his list.

He was sweaty and shaky and he couldn't look anyone in the eye. Arthur looked like he was about to crack, but Merlin couldn't utter a single word to him under the pressure.

"Are you ready?" asked Essie, a mad glint in her eyes, raising her inevitable weapon.

"Do it," he answered through gritted teeth, digging his nails into the wooden chair as he prepared himself for the ultimate sacrifice, screwing his eyes shut.

"Snip, snip, and snip!" she hollered, as her rusty scissors cut through his waist long pony tail.

"This is hilarious," laughed Arthur, finally cracking, as he picked up the ponytail on the ground by Merlin's feet, "this is the size of my arm! My friend- you waited for me, and I respect that, but you couldn't have gotten a haircut?"

Essie laughed along with Arthur as Merlin scowled at them.

"You two are bullies," he accused. This made them laugh harder.

"C'mon Artie, let's go play tug on a rope," Essie suggested, taking the pony tail from Arthur and twirling around her head, "wanna join us, Granny?"

"I'll pass," said Merlin as he ran his fingers through his newly-cropped hair, "I don't like associating myself with dung heads."

"One thousand years, and your insults remain the same," said Arthur, raising an eyebrow in good humour.

"The sentiment remains," sighed Merlin, as he leaned back into his lounging chair, taking a deep breath of the outdoor air.

"Fine, c'mon you beefy loser," said Essie, punching Arthur's arm playfully as she ran out near the lake. Arthur joined her and very soon they were playing tug of war, which Arthur obviously won.

This turned into a game of catch when Essie snatched the hair from him and he ran after her to get it back. Merlin watched on, laughing at them. This isn't what he thought he'd be doing when Arthur came back.

Eventually Arthur called time-out and rejoined Merlin, leaning against the porch railing.

"Old Man," he teased. Merlin merely rolled his eyes again.

"Immature twits," he bit back, smiling his old goofy smile. This time Arthur rolled his eyes, as Essie arrived, panting because of all the exercise.

"Look on the bright side," she told Merlin as she took a long draught from the bottle of water balanced on the railing, "now you have your own individual look! The Gandalf thing wasn't working out anymore."

"Yeah, now you don't resemble a stereotypical druid either," added Arthur.

"My dear King, I technically _am _a Druid?" reminded Merlin.

"Yes, but now you don't _look_ like one."

Suddenly a shrill alarm blared, issuing from Essie's pocket.

"Crap," she sighed, reaching into the pocket of her sweater and pulling out an old Nokia mobile. She fiddled with it until it turned off.

"Shop duty," she huffed, before tossing the cut-off pony tail back to Arthur and marching into the house, calling, "reserve the game for later!"

As she disappeared through the back door, Arthur sat himself down next to Merlin on the only other cheap lounge chair. It creaked weakly.

"So," Arthur said, looking to Merlin's newly troubled expression that didn't owe completely to having his hair cut off. He always resumed this expression as soon as Essie would leave, "what have you been thinking?"

It had been two weeks since killing off the Elder Mother, and Essie was still very satisfied by it. Merlin, on the other hand, understood that there was a reason he tried to avoid conflict like that for such a long time, investigating possible situations and solving them and the such- because once you start again, you can't stop. It's an obsessive game that can get you killed.

Merlin sighed and answered, "The thought of the Old Religion resurfacing bothers me greatly. They had virtually died out throughout the years but… the Elder Mother is proof that they've returned to some extent."

Upon finding the symbol of Morgana le Fay (also known as the tree of life and the Old Religion sigil) carved into an Elder tree, as well as the Elder Mother boasting about powerful and restless spirits returning from the next world, Arthur and Merlin had been on the lookout for anything else that came from beyond the veil and also had a taste for blood, as they usually seem to. But they hadn't found anything yet.

Merlin turned to his satchel by his feet and pulled out several clippings of the last two week's news. He handed them to Arthur who examined them closely.

"Nothing too suspicious has been going on in Cameron specifically, but there's definitely unrest," he droned, closing his eyes and setting his forehead on his folded hands, "throughout all of Avalon, the people have grown uneasy- several reports reflect that."

"What's this one?" interjected Arthur, holding up one from a few days before. Merlin opened his eyes briefly to peer at it.

"A little boy has drowned," he replied , "his mother swears he could swim, but authorities are saying that as he was ten years old so he couldn't have been able fight something pulling him under."

Arthur skimmed it with the sky blue eyes Essie described to 'reflect who he really is.' Arthur didn't know what to say to that because quite honestly he had no idea what she meant by who he was.

"This didn't happen here specifically."

"No, it happened in a small pond just a little way closer to the mountains," murmured back Merlin, whose eyes were closed again, "I suspect it might be something other than what they predict."

"And _they_ think it's…?"

"Probably something trivial, like seaweed," muttered Merlin.

"But you don't think so?"

"Not in the slightest."

Arthur digested this as he stared back down at the article, when Essie burst out the house again from behind them, making him jump. Merlin barely moved.

"Be back in about…. Oh god, it's Monday," she sighed, before blowing a strand of her dark hair out of her face unveiling a darker expression, "which means five hours for the next five days, kill me now."

"If you hate it so much, why don't you just do something else?" suggested Merlin for probably the 101th time since they met.

"Because it's satisfying," came Essie's unchanging response, as she took a deep breath, and marched off to the little shack-like store that was rooted by the dock where her boat was parked.

"Can I accompany you?" called Arthur, who was bored and in need of something to do. He needed to be constantly moving or he was sure he'd go insane.

"Your funeral!" she hollered back over her shoulder without stopping. He picked himself up and jogged after her.

Merlin reached for the newspaper clipping that Arthur left behind and looked at it once more:

_GILLAN POND TRAGEDY by Mary Xhu_

_Austin Tyler, 10, meets a horrid end last Thursday on July 24__th__, when he drowned in Gillan Pond under the watch of his father, Fred Tyler. He was playing with his toys by the seemingly nonthreatening pond as his father worked nearby. _

_"__He was just playing," says Papa Tyler, 37, through a thick Cockney accent that suggests he has very recently migrated from the main land, "He was playing his violin by the pond on the docks- he loved to do that because his brothers are players as well."_

_His tone quite stoic for someone who had lost their son, the late Tyler's 34 year old mother, Dana Tyler, issued a much more fierce statement akin to a mother bear._

_"__He could swim," she shouted at me and my team from her porch as her two unnamed older sons held her back from smacking me upright with a pan, "he could swim and he was good at it! He was strong for a boy his age, he would cut wood! Can your son cut wood? Can he?!"_

_I'm quite sure that if I personally did have a son, he wouldn't have been playing by a pond virtually unsupervised._

_Authorities still dispute the cause of Austin's death, but have told us that it may have been because of prior asphyxiation. They haven't released any other details, however._

_I think all would agree with me when I say- the incident could have been easily diverted._


	2. Chapter 2

**Hullo. Sorry these two chapters are so short, I've been really sick and on top of that- writer's block. I ****_promise _****the next few chapters will be longer and far more interesting and action packed and the such. Do review! xx**

"So you work here?" said Arthur as he followed Essie through a creaky door into the shack.

"Yup," she answered curtly as she went to open the metal fence hanging from the ceiling that covered the window. She lifted it easily despite how heavy it looked and locked it into place, as light that poured in illuminated the musty shop.

It smelled like worms and bait (predictably), but Arthur could also smell a little bit of rose. It was cramped, though he was of considerably larger size than her. There were pails of various kinds of bait as well as a few replacement hooks and bobs in the corner by a tiny apron-sink.

"Gosh," muttered Essie, as she rummaged through a small pile of colorful papers, "they never let up."

"What is it?"

"Flyers for town," sighed Essie, "the council sends them monthly as they think it's a bit of a tourist attraction, the Lake. But no one collects them, people would rather actually be _in town. _No one really comes down here."

She didn't seem at all dismayed when she said this, but in fact looked a note happier.

"What sort of people come up here, those who do?" inquired Arthur as he looked around a bit more. He spotted a small amount of shirts similar to his, stuffed into a box in the far corner by the door, where a small frame was hung over it.

"Not a lot of people, mostly vendors," shrugged Essie, not looking to him as she fidgeted with a large metal box with strange knobs on it that was situated by the large window open to a quite spectacular view of the Lake.

Suddenly a loud strange sound made Arthur jump (which had been happening a lot lately). Essie gestured to the box.

"Sorry, it was the cash register," she giggled. Arthur looked over her shoulder. It had a few papers and a handful of coins inside it, sorted into little sections.

"Doesn't look like much," he pointed out. Essie scowled.

"How about you become our mascot, I'm sure we'll get more money then," she snapped, before closing it loudly, almost catching Arthur's fingers in between.

"So you just… sit here for a while, until someone buys something?" carried on Arthur, leaning against the grimy wall and staring out to the Lake. Essie had moved to the corner by the sink and was pulling on rubber gloves.

"No, I have to do maintenance around the Lake as well," she answered curtly, "make sure there isn't anything in there that shouldn't be (that's how I found your sword), take care of a few plants around the Lake, take care of animals-"

"You work with animals?" asked Arthur, a seed of hope jumping to his throat, "what sort of animals?"

"Not horses or dogs like you might think," she replied boredly, as she reached for a few pails and dropped them by Arthur on the vendor's table hanging out the window, beginning to sort the contents, "when I say 'take care' I mean make sure aliens don't invade."

"Aliens?" repeated a slightly disappointed Arthur, the word twisting his tongue as his nose scrunched at the foul smell of the bait.

"You know, animals that shouldn't be around the Lake 'cause they belong somewhere else. Sometimes I'll catch a larger animal like a coyote. Once there was a bear but luckily I didn't have to do anything because it was being hunted anyway, so it was taken care of. Well-"

She hesitated.

"Unlucky for the bear, I guess."

Arthur nodded slowly.

"I'm a bit of a ranger, you can say," she smiled, as she finished sorting quickly and peeled off her gloves. He smacked his arm with them which left a slimy stain as well as an even more disgusted expression on Arthur's face.

"Be right back, just got to get something," she muttered as she left through the open back door. Arthur merely continued to scrunch his nose at the smell, as well as the now numerous flies that were gathering around the different baits.

A few moments later, a yell issued from outside. Arthur hurried out and found Essie staring with blinding rage at the back wall of the store.

"What is-?"

"ANOTHER ONE?!" she exclaimed, dragging Arthur by the arm and pointing at it. On the walls in red paint that almost looked like blood were the words: _FROM BEYOND._

"I CANNOT BELIEVE- I'VE ISSUED A COMPLAINT AGAINST THESE- THESE- SONS OF-"

She was so angry she could hardly speak. She was simply seething, and Arthur was almost worried she would pass out from all the red that was now tinging her cheeks.

"What's going on?" came Merlin's voice from behind them. He had evidently heard the screaming.

"Look!" Essie continued to scream, "Look, Merlin! I can't believe those stupid _scumbags _have done graffiti on it _again!"_

"Okay, calm down, Es'," soothed Merlin meekly. She turned to him.

"Calm down?! CALM _DOWN?! Who do you think has to constantly wash this off?!"_

She let out one more yell of frustration before marching inside the store to grab some supplies to do exactly that.

Arthur continued to peer at the words.

"Strange message," he observed, "_From_ _beyond_?"

"It is odd," agreed Merlin, peering at it closely. He smelled it- definitely not paint. But not blood either. It smelt strongly like roses.

"It's dyed paste," he murmured to Arthur, who looked closely over his shoulder, "how very peculiar."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the word, then said, "Do they even-?"

"No, they don't use this anymore," Merlin murmured again, reaching out and touching his fingers to the paint. It was very cold.

"What does it _mean _though?" pressed Arthur.

"I'll tell you!" came Essie loud voice. They both jumped away from the wall, "whoever is doing this has one thing to bear in mind!"

She dropped the pail of water on the ground so hard some water sloshed over and almost spilled. She thrust a large sponge which already stained red into it.

"One more time," she warned with every rub on the paste that really wasn't coming off, "And I swearto theGodsalmighty_-"_

She turned to Merlin and Arthur with a wild expression so violent it contested Uther Pendragon himself.

"-I will _murder _if I catch the punk ass kids who are doing this,_" _she deemed in a voice that left no doubt in Arthur's mind she wasn't kidding.

Merlin gestured at Arthur to follow him into the store. Arthur agreed and they both left quietly and hastily leaving a muttering Essie rubbing furiously at the red paste.

"This isn't the first time this has happened," started Merlin as Arthur followed him into the store, leaning against the wall.

"Has this been happening anywhere else?" interrogated Arthur, feeling the familiar sense of authority he rarely got any more. It was hard to get when you hardly knew anything about the modern era.

"No, it hasn't," assured Merlin, wondering when this had all started.

"Does she have any enemies?"

Merlin scoffed.

"Enemies? She might not be all together pleasant to others, but no one would go through this much trouble. I mean, the paste would take a quite a lot of effort to make in itself, let alone coming out here and taking the trouble to write such meaningless things."

Arthur nodded slowly, though not completely trashing the idea. He barely knew anyone here, but he was used to the idea of sabotage and enemies and threats, as he _was _king of a kingdom that often felt rebellious.

"YOU GUYS HAD BETTER BE GETTING MORE WATER TO HELP ME."

**'Till next tuesday!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! Sorry this is a day and a bit late, I've gone back to school and I already have a work load! I have a horrible feeling I might have to update this every ****_other _****Tuesday instead of ****_every_**** Tuesday instead, or just once a month... it breaks my heart to do so, but I really am quite busy with... life things.**

**Anyway, do enjoy, and tell what you think and review, it makes my day! Thanks! ~SMNJ**

That evening as they lulled inside the cabin, Essie was making another dinner (fish/rice) and Merlin was, per usual, sitting in his armchair, staring into space and obviously thinking hard. This thoughtful Merlin always scared Arthur the most.

Sitting across from Merlin, Arthur was doing quite a lot of thinking himself, as he ate some crisps Essie had thrown at his head earlier.

The case with the little boy who had drowned was really bothering him. His 'stoic' father especially. Who would be so calm after his son had died under his care? Arthur would never have been able to live with his own conscience. Theoretically, anyway…

"Merlin, I really think that story is worth following," he burst suddenly, steering his mind away from the 'theoretical' road.

"Which one?" Drawled Merlin, slowly coming back to earth from his reverie.

"The one with the boy, drowning."

Merlin took a moment to refocus his eyes and comprehend what Arthur was talking about.

"Oh, the ten-year-old, Austin Tyler," he remembered, "yes, it is quite odd… but I'm starting to think it may have really just been that. A tragedy."

Arthur noted how tonelessly Merlin was talking. The Merlin Arthur knew would have been the one attracting _his _attention to the situation, and demanding they go see about it, otherwise dragging Gaius with him. He had grown considerably colder over the years…

"Tragedy? What tragedy?" Interjected Essie from behind them, setting the lid on her pot and joining Arthur on the couch.

"Here," muttered Merlin, ruffling through his satchel and pulling out his little bundle of newspapers. Essie raised her eyebrows, but accepted the small clipping Merlin handed to her. Her large eyes skimmed over the page, and her expression turned into a wary one.

"I hate this reporter, this Mary Xhu," she grumbled, handing it to Arthur, "she always writes like everything is beneath her."

Arthur mentally agreed, as he quickly reread the small article and then handed it back to Merlin, who took it between his long fingers and regarded it with tired eyes.

"I think we should check it out as well," Essie trilled, obviously excited at the prospect of another adventure.

She had cooled down quite quickly after she had finished cleaning up the graffiti mess- one minute she was a kettle fit to burst and the second she was cool as a cucumber. Arthur thought this quite strange but didn't put it past her.

"I don't know, we might just be wasting our time," sighed Merlin, setting his fingers together and closing his eyes. Essie huffed.

"C'mon, Granddad! It's only a little past town, Arthur can see a bit more of the island!" she reasoned, "and it _is _my birthday in a bit over a week, it can be an outing for that."

Arthur turned to her in surprise.

"It's your name day?"

"Yes, it is, by your words," she smiled, looking to him with a buoyant expression, "I usually wouldn't give a damn, but because I'm turning 21 it's a bit of a bigger deal."

"You're coming of age, so it is," said Arthur, turning back to Merlin, "c'mon, Merlin, it'll be of amusement."

Merlin regarded them both for a few moments then agreed with a silent "fine."

"Yeah, up top!" bubbled Essie raising her hand. Arthur looked to her in confusion. She sighed.

"We've talked about this, just hit mine with your hand," she reminded him. Arthur slapped her hand hesitantly but the moment was gone.

Arthur excused himself to go to the bathroom- other than the fridge thing, the _toilets _were really amazing.

Essie leaned back into the white-grey couch and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly and reached to her side to the small table and took out a small blue book out of the drawer. Merlin recognized it immediately.

"Wait, that's the book about Arthur from the library," he said, amused. Essie smiled in the same good humour.

"Yeah, I've read it a couple of times, actually," she replied, touching the blue guilded cover fondly. _King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, _by the local teacher's great grandfather, Roger Green.

Merlin smiled briefly then returned to his thoughts.

"You're in it quite a lot," she said suddenly, making Merlin look up again. Her expression was earnest.

"Yes, I suppose so," stated Merlin. Arthur and his' destinies were, after all, intertwined.

"But it's so different from the real you!"

"It's bound to be inaccurate."

"Yes but… it's just, in this book, you're already old," she tried again, "you're old and wise and… psychic."

Merlin laughed.

"Well I was hardly any of those things, though I am old now." He obviously thought Essie was teasing him.

"In your stories," pressed Essie, "you told me about the Great Dragon- his name was-"

"Kilgarrah," finished Merlin, his tone now soft. He had hard feelings for the dragon after all these years.

"Right, and he was the wise, old, psychic one."

"Correct. So?"

"So… you said, before," said Essie slowly, "you said that witches and wizards or sorcerers or _whatever, _they would base their power on a certain element or symbol of power…"

"Yes…?"

"You… yours is the Dragon."

There was a long pregnant pause, as Merlin stared long and cold at Essie's face, which was a sheepish one, but still very earnest.

"Well… I was a dragon lord…" he replied slowly.

"Exactly," she urged, "so your symbol of power is the Dragon, and not just any dragon, but the Great Dragon Kilgarrah! It all makes sense!"

"No, Essie, it doesn't," he started, now even more wary but his tone was cold, "I haven't met the 'Great Dragon' or any other Dragon since Arthur died-"

"But think about it- when you met the Dragon, he was just over 1000 years old. Now, so are you! No, seriously, consider it for a second," continued Essie over Merlin, "he was wise, and he _knew _things, and most of all, he was _powerful! _And that's exactly what you've become!"

Merlin stopped trying to explain himself and merely tried to work out if he was offended or not. It was alright to be wise and all, but at what cost?

And powerful? Hardly- he had grown so used to not using magic he now had trouble casting a simple summoning charm. He realized suddenly he had turned into Gaius.

Merlin searched Essie's defiant face, then finally said, "You remember every single one of my stories, don't you?"

"Word for word," she answered instantly, beaming. Merlin smiled back, which Essie was happy to see was his goofy one Arthur made fun of so much.

"Aren't books at the library due after a week?" Remembered Merlin, his tone turning stern. Essie lifted her eyes guiltily, blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Well… yes- technically," she stammered, as a toilet flush issued from the bathroom above them.

"Essie," Merlin said in the same condescending tone, "you know you can't afford the fees-"

"No need," she grumbled, obviously disgruntled at his reminder, "I've told them I've lost it."

"You what?" Merlin was now smiling slightly, as the sound of s door opening and closing issued from the above floor.

"I've lost it," she said again, gripping the book harder and hugging it to her chest, "and I've paid for it."

"How much?"

There was a short pause when Essie finally admitted, "£11."

"Essie!"

"It was worth it though!" she protested, as Merlin began to laugh and Arthur re-entered the room. He fell next to Essie as Merlin continued to laugh, which had evidently made Essie burst into a fit of giggles as well. Arthur spotted the book.

"Hey!" he pointed at the blue book with his name on it, "you still have that?!"

Essie and Merlin continued to laugh.

The next morning, as the dark lake glimmered under the rising sun, it almost seemed like the world was immersed in bliss.

The war raging in Arthur's sleeping mind said otherwise.

He was running through a forest- the same forest he had played on the brink of as a child, with his disgraced sister, Morgana. However now he was alone, and it wasn't the same atmosphere he felt back in the day. Now it was dark and ominous.

As he sprinted through the thick trees and stinging branches, he could hear voices all around him. Voices of those he loved. Guinevere, his father, his knights, his people.

Their faces flew in and out of sight too, their forms fleeting in the distance and disappearing just before he got to them, like the end of a rainbow. He could hear them moaning. He could hear them calling his names. But it was never in love or rejoice, welcoming him back or leading him to a brighter place.

They were all voices of grief, and condoning betrayal.

Suddenly everything vanished and Arthur felt himself falling. All went dark. Arthur hated the dark- it was all he could see and feel when he felt himself drift away those so many years ago on the bank of the Lake, which felt like mere moments ago to him-

_It was bound to happen, you know._

Arthur could hear Merlin's voice, in his head… but it was different. Older, heavier.

His feet found hard ground and suddenly there he was- Merlin, his comrade.

Except it wasn't him. Somehow Arthur knew who the old white quivering man was. With a jolt he realised he recognized who it was, but it was as someone different from Merlin.

It was Emrys.

Hunched on a rock and leaning on an old cane, wearing dark drapes around him like a god. He was looking down at his hidden feet, but Arthur knew his eyes would be a stormy grey.

"What do you mean?" questioned Arthur desperately, almost as if every breath he took depended on it, "what was bound to happen?"

There was a long silence, before Emrys slowly raised his heavy head and looked Arthur square in the eye, sending chills down his spine and a burning fever in his chest he guessed was fear.

_It's a tragedy they're gone, _Emrys spoke in his head, _but it was bound to happen eventually._

"What was? What was bound to happen?"

_Loss._

Arthur's eyes flew open.

The pain that shot through his pupils was one welcoming bright light. He realised he had shot upright as he had woken up. He raised his heavy arms to rub his eyes.

He dropped his arms after some furious rubbing and took a deep breath, and finally opened his eyes completely.

He very suddenly realized that Essie was standing at the foot of his bed.

He leapt up and grabbed his sheets to his bare chest, shouting, "WHAT THE DEVIL, WOMAN?!"

Essie jumped back in fright as well, but her straight face remained, as she held up her hands.

"I was just putting back some of your clothes, they came out of the wash!"

"What?!"

"The wash!" she assured in a softer tone, as Arthur glared at her from his nest of twisted sheets.

He then asked her indignantly, "How long have you been there?"

She shuffled nervously, before she replied sheepishly, "about five minutes…"

Arthur sent her a dead but threatening stare and she hurried to explain.

"I was just coming in to put back your shirt and pants, and as I was leaving you started muttering and moaning… things," she continued, "and then you started to sort of yell…"

There was a dragged silence, as Arthur digested this with narrowed eyes.

It was with a different expression when Essie timidly added, "You know… Merlin may not be the same Merlin you know… but he is essentially the same person under it all."

There was another shot of silence before Arthur demanded roughly, "Why do you say that?"

Essie gulped and looked down at her shuffling feet, then muttered, "I- well- you were… I just had a strange… feeling you needed to hear it..."

She finished this thought and slowly raised her eyes to Arthur's icy ones. For a few moments Arthur had an even stranger feeling that somehow she knew _exactly _what he had dreamed.

Before he could ask, however, she said loudly, "Get up and get ready, we're leaving for Gillan Pond after breakfast."

With that she power-walked out the small room.

**Do tell me what you think! :) See you probably next Tuesday, I hope. Very much. Yeah.**


	4. Chapter 4

**HI. It's been a looooong while. I've tried to write as much as I can!**

**This chapter won;t have a lot of the greater scope of things, but a lot more ahead, so hang tight!**

**THANKS FOR BEARING WITH ME, REVIEW PLEASE! :)**

* * *

Arthur and Essie were both acting odd and distracted around each other, Merlin noticed.

He had woken up later than usual. Last night was strangely dreamless- Merlin was used to waking up panting and clammy. But instead he woke up quite refreshed- which hadn't happened in about two centuries.

He woke up around 11 AM, which was relatively late for him. He skipped stairs coming down, still getting a small thrill whenever he hopped or ran or even walked without getting excruciating pain in his joints.

He walked in on Essie making a couple of sandwiches and packing bottles of water. She turned and smiled at him.

"Mornin', Granddad."

"Hullo, Es'."

She grabbed all three paper lunch bags and put them into a basket, which looked like was also holding a couple other choice articles of food, including poppy-seed cake. Merlin reached for it, but Essie slapped his hand lightly.

"Arthur is a bad influence on you," she scolded, as the loud buzz came off from the washing machine in the pantry. She flashed one more smile before going to go collect the clothes.

Merlin sighed and sat down at the table, and started to unpeel and chew on a slightly mushy banana (but he didn't mind). He noticed his satchel and reached for it, pulling out the article on Austin Tyler.

_'__Austin Tyler, 10, meets a horrid end last Thursday on July 24__th__, when he drowned in Gillan Pond under the watch of his father, Fred Tyler. He was playing with his toys by the seemingly nonthreatening pond as his father worked nearby,' _reread Merlin under his breath. He frowned. His father had done nothing to save his son, or it didn't seem so, anyway. If the pond was so non-threatening, then how did Fred Tyler not easily save his son? Was he so unconcerned for his child he didn't notice him dropping and thrashing in the lake as seaweed pulled him under…?

Essie rushed past him with a heap of clothes (including some pants which he flashed at Merlin and grinned mischievously as she walked by) and hopped upstairs to put them away before they ate breakfast and left.

Merlin returned his thoughts to the article.

Arthur was right, something was definitely off about this story. Details were missing.

Some minutes later, there was a shriek upstairs. A few moments after that, Essie reappeared, her face a burning red as she hurried out the back door leading outside for no apparent reason, her long ponytail swishing violently behind her.

A little while later, Arthur clambered down the stairs, also slightly pink in the face.

"Morning," Merlin said slowly, guessing something probably happened.

"Hello," he answered gruffly, and dropped next to Merlin at the table. He reached for his favourite snack- an apple. He was avoiding Merlin's eyes for some reason.

"What-?"

"Nothing, except that girl is a dufus-moron," he said completely seriously, taking a ferocious bite out of his apple. He was scowling.

Merlin figured something embarrassing had taken place- Arthur tended to lace words together whenever he had been humiliated in the slightest.

"But what-?"

"You'd think you'd get a little decency after coming back from the _dead_, you know?" he continued loudly, taking another bite and added between chews, "I mean, I _was _the king, after all! Even that should go a long way!"

Merlin was at a loss for what to say, except one thing that always worked whenever Arthur was inherently annoyed at anything.

"That must be rough," he replied wisely, a biting tone of sarcasm that Arthur never noticed.

"Thank you, my friend," he said, patting Merlin's back and taking yet another huge bite of his apple. Merlin raised an eyebrow at the treatment.

Arthur spotted the article hanging from Merlin's long fingers.

"She said we were leaving after breakfast," he said slowly through slow chews, as he reached for the article and read it once over again. Merlin nodded in silence. Arthur's eyebrows came together.

"He can swim," he muttered, handing it back to his friend, avoiding his touch as he passed it on, "that's a bit of a sorry excuse."

"It is," Merlin agreed, aware of Arthur's discomfort.

There was a loud snap behind them, and they both turned to Essie walking in quickly avoiding their eyes.

"The stuff are ready, she said briskly, as she gathered a few more things, "we can leave when you\re ready."

Merlin and Arthur both glanced at each other, but didn't answer her. She took the opportunity to plop next to them.

"I say we leave as soon as possible," she said almost defensively.

"I agree," said Merlin, sighing and instead choosing to ignore whatever awkwardness was taking place. Nothing was his fault, which was all he needed to know, "I'm ready to go. Arthur?"

Arthur merely nodded in return, his eyes unmoving from a spot on the wall across from him. Merlin got up for a start, and they both snapped out of reverie and followed suite.

* * *

The car was felt so stuffy that Arthur felt hell must have a similar stickiness to it. The weather was unconventionally sunny, and the forest's summer thrive wasn't helping in the slightest. It wasn't too different from wearing knight's armor and chain-mail, but Arthur had been hoping he wouldn't have to cope with that any more, now that modern clothes were much more practical (though admittedly, his own clothes weren't exactly the most rich of material. He had spotted a budding hole in one of the uncomfortable short sleeves- the food wasn't doing him any favors).

"We'll get you some more clothes on the way to Gillan," Essie told Arthur, as she attempted to start the engine of her extremely old and run down car, Christie, "there's a small thrift shop a little down the road north-east of Cameron."

Merlin nodded reassuringly in return, as Arthur obviously had no idea what a thrift store was. He shrugged to this but secretly he was excited for their little adventure. Arthur had only ventured pat the lake three times- and one of the times was to kill a tree spirit. This was going to lengthen his outdated parameters.

They hopped into the car and they were off down the dusty path around the hill of a mountain they so amiably christened Twisty Trail. Trees guarded either side and provided some relief from the merciless sun.

"I know a small little corner we can stay at while we're there," put in Merlin as they drove through the green and past the small community. Essie looked relived they weren't right turning into it.

"Oh yeah, you lived in Winchester for a while, didn't you?" conversed Essie, as she tapped her fingers on the hot leather wheel. Arthur was, per usual, riding in the back. Essie had told him he needed to 'prove himself' before he could call shot gun. 'plus Merlin is older, so there,' she had told him.

"I did, but more than just a little while," he replied in a monotone voice, "Winchester is where the castle was originally."

Arthur's attention heightened.

"What happened?" he asked sharply. He hadn't asked Merlin many details about what had happened for the past centuries, he could tell his old friend would be pained by memories. Essie, for a fact, thought it strange Merlin had neglected to tell him everything despite this.

"Well, after a while, people just started to disperse," he answered in the same flat tone, "people wanted to see more than just the confines of the safety of the walls. The poor started to revolt as well, against higher power… eventually the original Camelot descendants virtually disappeared. People who lived in what was left of the original town we called Camelot became mostly immigrants who decided to stay."

"Every one decides to stay," murmured Essie, staring ahead into the far distant with hard eyes..

The greens started to vanish and the landscape turned a bit barer. The seemingly large island of Avalon wasn't much for crops, but there were small areas of grass where cows lazily lingered under the heat, flicking away the large mass of flies that buzzed around their brown and white ears.

This ride lasted for about ten minutes before Arthur demanded that they get out, the heat really getting to him. Merlin agreed, and Essie frankly had no complaints about stopping. She insisted the thrift store was just moments away and they would stop there for a drink and a bite from their poppy-seed cake.

Shortly after these very words, a small dusty plaza revealed itself from hiding behind the mirages that fooled even Merlin's steely eyes. It had a grubby diner, a small Laundromat, and as Essie had promised, a small thrift store. Merlin thought it strange that would have a Laundromat in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Avalon had very cut off communities.

They clambered out of the car, squinting at the light. To be honest, Essie preferred rain to anything. She liked the familiar melancholy. Merlin sympathised with this.

They ambled across the wide parking lot that was really just an empty lot. The thrift shop was very small but the signs looked friendly and cheerful enough. Essie pushed open the door lightly, and a small tinkle issued as they all stepped into the strange-smelling room huddled together.

The walls were wallpapered a deep green with ornate gold design, though water damage was evident from near the ceiling. There were a few shelves holding old, sad looking toys and pots and books and other doohickeys- there were a couple rows of racks with worn out but otherwise surprisingly sensible clothes. Essie breathed in deeply and ended up coughing.

"Hi!" said a bright voice to their left. There was a tall boy with dark hair and malevolent gleam in his eyes. His smile was crooked and his voice was deep and strangely melodious. Essie smiled faintly.

"Welcome to Gillan's Value Shop," he greeted relatively cheerfully, "my name is Nickson, reminder that everything is an added 20% off if you have anything you want to donate!"

Essie nodded slowly before turning to Arthur and Merlin, a gentle blush creeping into her cheeks, "you guys check out the clothes, I'll just be looking at their pots."

Merlin nodded, though he half winked at Essie that made her blush even darker, then Arthur followed him to the clothes section. There were a few old flannel shirts that had holes in them Merlin suspected came from moths. There were also a few t shirts here and there with odd logos on them- one of them had a picture of a doll etched on it with the logo "Don't you wish you were me?" A small collection of pants was piled on a small shelf near the racks.

"Hey, look at this one," said Arthur, lifting an XXL women's blouse with bright blue dots on it. Merlin sniggered.

"That's for women," Merlin told him, trying to maintain a straight face. Arthur frowned.

"Really?" he sighed, looking at it himself.

"Yes."

"But it resembled my own clothes so much."

"Fashion has changed."

"For the worse, apparently," muttered Arthur, setting it back on the rack. Merlin smiled more widely and ushered him over.

"This is the men's section," he told him, gesturing. Arthur's eyebrows furrowed farther.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing at a pair studded leather boots. Merlin scoffed.

"Another example of fashion," he told him. Arthur smiled slightly and picked them up. He actually kind of liked them. Very macho.

Essie was in the corner looking at the old pots that she had no intention of buying- who knows where the pots had been, really. She might pick a small vase for flowers (she loved collecting those) and maybe a small basin for storage in the store, but they were here to buy clothes for Arthur and something told her he wasn't going to hold back- and they needed to save some money for a motel and food and such.

"Need any help?"

Essie jumped and whipped around- What was his name? Nickson. Nickson was right behind her and smiling mysteriously.

"I- er- well-"

"This vase is half off, if you're interested," he talked over her stammering, reaching past her to the shelf, his long fingers clasping around the thin neck of the vase she was looking at. As he drew his arm back, he gently touched her shoulder, which made her cheeks flush.

"It's about a decade old, but really good condition," he continued to say, handling it lightly. Essie wasn't really looking at the vase though.

"Great for decoration, and the neutral color goes with anything," he said, looking up to her. His eyes were green, and shimmered like water.

"Yeah," Essie managed.

"Say, you're not from around here, are you?" he asked casually.

"N- no, I live by the Lake, near Cameron," she answered quickly.

"The Lake," he repeated, "the Lake by Cameron."

Essie nodded slowly. His smile grew.

"So, who are those two?" he gestured to Arthur and Merlin, who were examining a pair of jeans, "Are they friends?"

Essie nodded slowly.

"A bit more than that," she said softly, still captivated by his eyes.

"...Do you mean to say you're- dating one of them?" he continued, raising an eyebrow. His voice was morose.

"I… wait, what? No!" she said quickly, snapping out of it, "No, of course not!"

"Oh, then… are they…?" he raised his other eye brow. Essie caught his drift.

"Oh, no," she answered, "no, I don't really- no."

"Right, well," he started, "What brings you all to Gillan?"

"We're here to- see relatives," Essie replied, deciding it was better not to share their whole intent, "Merlin- the one with the black hair- he used to live in Winchester."

"Ah, Winchester," he repeated, "Yes, many pit stop at Gillan on their way there."

"Right."

"Essie, what do you think of these?" called Merlin, showing her their small selection. There were three shirt, shorts, jeans, and a leather jacket that looked like it had been through the mill, but otherwise warm enough.

"Er, nice," approved Essie, "We'll be paying then."

She looked one more time at the thin vase and grabbed that as well, and followed Nickson to the counter. Merlin and Arthur both set their items on the counter, as Essie pulled out a small wad of cash.

"Alright, so this all together would be about 27 pounds," Nickson counted, punching into the old cash register, "and with the added 20% off discount, it'll be… €21.60."

"I- discount?" Essie stuttered, who was obviously wounded by the original high price, "but- but you said that's if we donate things."

"Yes, well," said Nickson leaning across the counter, "donating your number to me will suffice, I think."

Essie's eyes grew comically, Arthur's eyebrows raised and almost disappeared into his shaggy hair, and Merlin stifled a loud guffaw.

She seemed transfixed, then suddenly dropped her wad of cash to the floor and shot out the door, her long hair whipping out of sight. Merlin and Arthur were left in the after-shock.

There was an awkward silence, when Merlin said with a wide goofy smile, "well- that could not have been _any_ better."


	5. Chapter 5

**Relatively short chapter, but I've already started writing the next chapter and it focuses much more on this story specifically, so be ready for that! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"What, why, how, _why?"_

Essie was still a deep red when after Merlin and Arthur had purchased the clothes with the money Essie had left behind, and gotten into the car. Essie had taken shelter inside Christie, and was now sitting slumped against the driving wheel, her forehead pressed to the horn which kept letting out loud beeps.

"Even I- who have no experience with modern 'flirting', found that hilarious," stated Arthur, who had nitched the front seat before Merlin (with a bit of force, of course).

"_Why?" _she continued to moan.

"Merlin, remember the girl in the peasant market?" shot Arthur suddenly, eyebrows still raised.

Merlin scratched his head, traces of his goofy smile still visible his face as he struggled to remember.

"Oh, the one you were hitting on when-"

"You pushed over that stand on top of us," continued Arthur, rolling his eyes dramatically. Essie was still moaning.

"You were misleading her any way," accused Merlin.

"Was not! I was just telling her of my exploits!"

"Arthur, you never slayed a chimaera before."

"She didn't know that."

"Yeah, because she was dim."

"What are you implying, you clumsy bas-?"

"Figure it out, dolop-head," teased Merlin, as Essie started to rhythmically banging her forehead on the wheel.

"Okay, okay, enough, we should be on our way," said Merlin after a little while of watching her do that, and leaned back into the back seat. It was actually quite roomy back here, he had no idea what Arthur was complaining about.

"Alright, alright, fine," murmured Essie, raising her head and attempting to start the car.

As they pulled out of the dusty parking lot, Essie's face still a bright shade of pink, Merlin started to plan their approach.

"I know some people down there," he started, "which means I can pull a few favors-"

"Is a motel discount one of them?" interrupted Essie, as Christie skidded a bit over the dry dirt- strange, it seemed like it hadn't rained there for ages.

Their drive lasted about ten more minutes, when they finally arrived at the heart of the small settlement called Gillan. It was a little higher in the mountains, nestled between two crooks in the steep plain. A small stream flowed right through the middle of it, a wood bridge connecting the two sides. It was very green, and the stream babbled pleasantly. As they drove down the narrow road between the small shops and offices (the houses were on the edge of the establishment), Arthur could spot the small pond where tragedy had struck, a little down the hill.

Eventually, Essie parked her car into a narrow lot by a small inn with a bar on its side. Merlin smiled, thinking of Gwaine. Arthur spotted his expression in the mirror above Essie's head and could sense the sad nostalgia. But he didn't say anything because Essie was still there- and his dream from last night kept cropping up every time he thought to talk to Merlin about pretty much anything.

They left the coughing vehicle as they entered from the back door, which led to a crummy room with a stubby man behind the counter that looked like he would be the rat leaving a sinking ship.

"Er, hi," said Essie awkwardly, obviously dreadful, "I want a room?"

"'F courze ye do," he said thickly, lifting and dropping a heavy and dusty book on the desk between them, which creaked feebly. He flipped through blank page after blank page until he landed near the beginning the book. Evidently business wasn't the best. The man didn't seem to care though.

Essie signed for one large room, when Arthur said, "hang on, we're not all sharing a room are we?"

Essie dulled his eyes at him.

"No, I'm getting three because I won the flippin' lottery," she retorted sarcastically. Merlin knew she got more sarcastic than usual to cover anything under the surface. She was obviously stressed about their whole trip.

"Li'zzen, if ye wan' three rooms-"

"You stay out of this," she snapped at the pudgy man, who looked affronted by her short temper.

"I don't want to share a room though- can't you and Merlin just share?" Arthur demanded. Merlin raised an eyebrow- he didn't remember Arthur being _this s_poiled.

"No, so put up and shut up," she said finally, turning away from him and trying to hand a wad of cash to the man subtly, who put it in his front pocket and handed her change in coins, which she scowled at.

Arthur was afraid of having another dream- it wasn't the first time it had happened, and the last thing he needed was Merlin giving him an unnerving stern stare with his electric eyes the morning after having a fit in his sleep. Not to mention he wouldn't feel the end of it from Essie, who was still sending him weird glances when she thought he wasn't looking. Arthur was always looking.

They trudged up to their room, which was smaller and dirtier than the 'lobby' downstairs. Essie thought she may have heard the scuttle of rats, but that didn't bother Merlin or Arthur as they were clearly used to it from their many adventures in the forest so very long ago.

Merlin examined the bed sheets. There were definitely going to be bed bugs.

"Alright, I'll have the bed," Arthur announced. That was the level of spoiled Merlin recognized.

"_Uh_, no," Essie intervened. She looked ready to fight, "that's not fair at all."

"What do you propose then?" asked Arthur sensibly, hands on his hips. He had already taken off his shirt and his new baggier and much more typical to himself shirt was slung over his shoulder.

"I say we play for it," Essie proposed, hands on her hips as well, looking Arthur head on. Arthur arched an eyebrow. Merlin just watched between them amusedly, his goofy smile returning to his face.

"Then I get to choose the game."

"NO, you'll choose something like arm wrestling!" she refused, "Merlin will choose."

They both looked to Merlin, whose eyes widened in surprise of being pulled into the ordeal.

"We go into Gillan," he said slowly, "and try to find out more about this whole ordeal. Anyone who can find the most information, whether that's updates, or lore, or general information about the Tyler family… they will get the bed."

Essie and Arthur exchanged glances, then they both nodded.

"Fine."

"Got it."

There was a short silence as they conceived plans. Arthur pulled on his shirt and slipped into some jeans. Well, tried to anyway. It was mostly struggle.

They lolled about as they settled into the room, establishing their little corners for their stuff in their backpacks. Essie arranged toothbrushes, and Merlin said he'd go to the lobby to ask the owner of the hotel about the city and where to go, the such.

This left Essie and Arthur in a mutual dilemma.

When Essie had returned from her vigorous cleaning of the washroom and found herself alone with Arthur, she realized that the awkwardness of their morning still lingered between them. They had used Merlin as an excuse to not think about it, but that had disappeared with his leaving.

And now the socially inadequate Essie was left with the bold and courageous King Arthur whom she had worshipped for her whole adult life.

And it was awkward as hell.

Arthur sat on the bed, his arms rested on his knees as he rummaged through the bedside table, in which he found the bible. He opened and flipped through the pages.

"So," Essie tried foolishly, trying to fill the tense space with rambling words, "How are you- er- fitting in?"

Arthur raised his head from the reading and glared at her. She was shuffling uncomfortably.

"How have I been doing?"

Essie had just stopped glowing red but it was slowly creeping to her cheeks again.

"Yeah, I mean- yes," she gulped, "just… how are you doing?"

The question was redundant.

"I'm… alright," he said slowly, picking his words carefully.

Essie straightened up from her unpacking and moved over to sit on the window sill. She regarded him critically, knowing full well that 'I'm alright' meant so much more.

"What do you mean?" she asked wisely.

Arthur sighed and raised his head even more to stretch his neck. She was like a child.

She set so much store in exaggerated stories, from Merlin and that ridiculous book she had brought along with them, which was now next to the bible he had set down on the bedside table. What he didn't know was that Essie was humbled by him. Arthur was more than a noble knight and great king. He was so much more complex.

Arthur regarded her, then said, "I have no need to tell you."

She blushed harder than after her encounter in the store, but he didn't care. Arthur didn't trust her yet, no matter what Merlin said. All they had in common was Merlin- in fact, Arthur was starting to doubt that too. The Merlin she knew wasn't the Merlin he had known.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"What?"

Her outburst had made him jump.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry about the people you lost," she said slightly sheepishly but she had the same radiance as this morning. An alarming surety for whatever hunch she had about his behaviour was correct.

"Listen," she continued to ramble, "I might not completely get you, and I know that you're not… completely used to everything but- but just know you're not alone."

Arthur was in stunned silence, and broke his mannish composure for one moment to say, "…how did you know?"

It was a general question, but she sure as hell didn't take it that way. Her smile was sad when she answered, "Because if anyone knows what it is to be alone, it's me. You don't have to be."

The telephone rang suddenly, but Essie seemed prepared because she immediately hopped off the sill and picked it up, brutally ending their momentary sharing. Arthur was immensely relieved.

"Yeah," Essie spoke into the phone, "Yeah, I get it, alright… who? Merlin, who is it? Okay, okay, we're coming."

She hung up and turned to Arthur, and said, "Merlin says that we should get going, plus there's someone we should meet."

"Who?"

"I don't know, he won't tell me. But one thing's for sure," her grin turned crooked, and a gleam shone from her large eyes, "the game is on."

* * *

**A shout out to sandwiches 'cause I was really hungry whilst writing this and I satisfied my hunger with a fast food burger... okay review please because clearly I need a life.**


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